Kawasaki Classic Motorcycles

Kawasaki's Aircraft Company
began the development of a motorcycle
engine in 1949. The development was completed
in 1952 and mass production started in
1953. The engine was an air-cooled, 148cc,
OHV, 4-stroke single cylinder with a maximum
power of 4 PS (3.9 hp/2.9 kW)
at 4,000 rpm.

In 1954 the first compete
Kawasaki Motorcycle was produced under
the name of Meihatsu, a subsidiary of
Kawasaki Aircraft. In 1960 Kawasaki completed
construction of a factory dedicated exclusively
to motorcycle production and bought Meguro
Motorcycles. Kawasaki has since then become
one of the world's major motorcycle manufacturers.

The Kawasaki 85 model J1TL is designed
for highway touring at speeds up to
62mph. The rotary disc valve allows
the single cylinder 2 stroke engine
to rev up to top output of 8hp in a
hurry, but runs for hours without heating
up. Powerful low speed torque makes
the Kawasaki 85 easy to handle in traffic,
too. This beautifully designed, sturdy
and trouble free motorcycle featuring
a light but strong frame, superb engine
and 4-speed transmission.

99cc. The G4TR was the evolution
of the first rotary valve single cylinder
Kawasaki's,starting with the little
J1 85cc street bike in the early 1960's
imported into the USA.It's roots are
more akin to the GA and G3 series
that came a bit later although.This
was the first of the small singles
(to the best of my knowledge) to use
the aluminum cylinder with cast iron
liner for superior cooling like it's
bigger counterparts,the F3 "Bushwacker",F7
175,F8 250 "Bison", F5 350 "Bighorn"
and it's racing brother the mighty-mite
G31M (chrome bore). 1970 was the first
model year for the "Trail Boss" 100cc,
10 speed.The high/low ranges of the
main 5 speed gearbox are selected
by a lever on the left hand engine
cover,eliminating the task of switching
rear sprockets as was more common
on earlier street-trail and enduro
machines.

Picture courtesey of www.parkercycle.com.

1985 Kawasaki KC100-C4

1983 Kawasaki KC100 C4

1968 Kawasaki D1

100cc

1986 Kawasaki KH100-G6

1973 Kawasaki G5

100cc 2-stroke.

1975 Kawasaki G5

100cc.

1970 Kawasaki G31M 100cc Flat Track

5 speed, Rotory Valve 20 HP @
10,000 RPM Owned the 100cc class in
the USA in the early 70's

1969 Kawasaki 120cc Roadrunner

4 speed rotory transmission all up
and hit neutral again. Very confusing
at times. 11 HP

The Kawasaki F21M "Green Streak"
was a 238cc, 2-stoke off-road motorcycle
manufactured by Kawasaki from 1967 through
1971 which competed in 250cc events.
The F21M was Kawasaki's first attempt
at building a flat track or off-road
racing bike from the ground up and based
on the Kawasaki F4. The F21M was advertised
as the "Greenstreak 238" Scrambler.
It was marketed mainly as a Tourist
Trophy (TT), Scrambles and Flat Track
motorcycle. Kawasaki produced the Green
Streak for flat track and short track
competition, and kept the overall design
of the motorcycle as simple and light
as safety would allow. The four speed
rotary valve motor pumped out an impressive
35 horsepower at 6500 rpm, and was housed
in a lightweight frame that made the
bike a force to be reckoned with on
the flat ovals it was designed for.

Kawasaki's first "Green"
motorcycle, It featured a two-stroke,
rotary valve 238cc four-speed engine.
It had an up-pipe, 19 inch front wheel,
competition air filter and Kawasaki's
Rotary Disc Induction System, where
the carb was housed inside the right
engine cover and fed fuel directly
into the crankcase.

Almost 1 year after the 350 S2, Kawasaki
sells the 250 S1 on French soil in May
1972. This model breaks with the previous
generation, the Samurai 250 at any point
of view: mainly on aesthetic engine.
Indeed, the line of the machine is modern
(it includes the lines of the 350 S2
and the 750 H2) and the engine resumed
its architecture machine kawasaki flagship,
the 500 H1, a 3-cylinder 2-stroke .

The 250 S1 shares a number of important
piece with the 350 S2. They are however
easily identifiable. The 250 S1 is
initialiement delivered in a white
robe and cylinder engine do that 6
cooling fins (against 7 for 350).
The engine is virtually indestructible
(designed to withstand the power of
350). If it is also rageur than those
big sisters, it is perfectly manageable,
even for a beginner.

Given the low power (32 hp instead
of 45 for 350), framework and braking
are widely size. The 250 also retain
throughout his career his dual front
brake cam (it was not until the appearance
of the KH to see a disc brake).

Kawasaki designer Nagato Sato started
work on the first KR twin during 1974
adopting an inline layout in order to
minimise the width and thus the frontal
area of the machine whilst still being
able to utilise disc valves. The liquid
cooled engine was housed in a conventional
twin loop steel frame with twin rear
shock absorbers. The machine first appeared
in competition during 1975, often with
Mick Grant in the saddle continuing
into 1976. These years brought little
in terms of success, but provided a
wealth of information and the opportunity
to develop the fledgling racer. 1977
marked a turning point for the twin
and Kawasaki when Mick Grant secured
the firms first Grand Prix win in the
250cc class at the Dutch TT at Assen
and followed that success with a win
at the Swedish Grand Prix later the
same year. More Kawasaki
KR250 history

The Kawasaki F5 Bighorn was a 350cc,
2-stroke, dual-purpose motorcycle
manufactured by Kawasaki in from
1970 through 1971 and known as the big
brother to the Kawasaki F4 Sidewinder,
the Bighorn used a newly designed 350cc
engine with a 5-speed gearbox and produced
33 hp @ 6,500. The F8 had an enclosed
carburetor to keep out water
and dirt, and sufficient ground clearance.
The F8 was also one of the few Kawasakis
to utilize the unique Hatta forks.

Rare & exceptional Kawasaki KR
500 Replica, identical in the smallest
detail to the works KR 500 entrusted
to the official Kawasaki rider Kork
Ballington during the 1980 500cc world
championship season. Just two examples
of the original machine were built by
Kawasaki in 1980, with just a further
two built in 1981 and was quite revolutionarily
for its time.

Kawasaki followed the W1 with the
W1SS which featured revised street
scrambler styling and an increase
in power due to a move to twin carburettors
in an attempt to redress the balance.
This was followed by a further refinement
in 1969 with the introduction of the
W2TT Commander featuring a high level
exhaust and independently mounted
instruments.

Despite being good, well built machines
with good performance and attractive
styling the W series twins never made
the breakthrough in the American market
that was expected of them and Kawasaki
seem to have lost interest in them,
looking forwards to the release of
the two stroke twins and triples,
which succeeded in establishing their
presence. Consequently the twin cylinder
four strokes are rare with the W2TT
being the rarest.